Bender-actuating mechanism for blindstitch sewing-machines.



G. S. HILL, BENDER AOTUATING MECHANISM FOR BLINDSTITGH SEWING MACHINES.APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1912.

1,1 1 3,628. Patented 001. 13, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. S. HILL. BENDER AOTUATING MECHANISM FOR BLINDSTITGH SEWING-MACHINES.APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1912. 1 1 3 628. 1 L Patented Oct. 13; 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a q; 7 Fi snares rarer. onnrcn GEQRGE S. HILL, OE BEVERLY,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB. T0 UNITED SHOE MACHIN- ERY COMPANY, 01EPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CQJRPGRATIQN 0F NEW JERSEY.

IBENJDER-AGIUATING IJIECHANISILI FOR BLINDSTITGH SEWING-MACHENES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 113, W914i.

Application filed December 30, 1912. Serial No. 739,302.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon S. HILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain Improvements in Bender-Actuating Mechanisms forBlindstitch Sewing-Machines, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the seeral figures.

This invention relates primarily to bender actuating mechanisms forblindstitch sewing machines and particularly for those machines of thetype known to the trade as buttonhole finishing machines, which arecommonly used for gathering together and binding down upon the inner orunexposed face of a buttonhole piece the stay cord and thrum ends leftby the buttonhole sewing machine.

An essential element of machines of the class to which this inventionrelates is a -bender which is actuated to form successive bends or foldsin the material and to present the bent material in the path of areciprocating needle for the formation of stitches. Considering thecharacter of the work to be performed by a machine for finishingbuttonholes in relatively thin leather such as is used for the uppers oflight weight shoesa kind of work for which the present invention isparticularly intended,it is obvious that the bender and its actuatingmechanism must be very accurately adjusted in its relation to the needleand must be such that the bender will not, whilein use, get out ofproper position with relation to the needle since the bender must bebrought at each bending stroke very close to but at a predetermineddistance from the needle, which should pass through the shoe upper orother thin material of the buttonhole piece from the inner side and outat the same side of the material without penetrating or becoming Visibleupon the opposite or en posed side.

In the most generally known buttonhole finishing machine, the bender isactuated yieldiugly through a long line of connections extending fromthat end of the machine which is opposite to the operating point upthrough a goose-neck and along substantially the entire length of themachine to the bender itself. This type of bender actuating mechanismcan not be employed with success in machines which operate at highspeed.

Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide, foractuating the bender of a machine of this general class, a novelmechanism which shall operate with greater certainty and efficiency andat the same time at a higher speed than any yet available to the trade.

An important characteristic of the preferred embodiment of the inventionis that the connection between the bender and its actuator, upon thedriving shaft or other source of power, comprises only a few parts whichmove the bender unyieldingly in both directions although it iscontemplated that the invention may be utilized in a machine in whichthe bender can yield relatively to its actuator.

More specifically, a feature of the invention comprises the provision ofa positively acting linkage between the bender or bender carrier and itsactuator and, preferably, the parts of this linkage are so located andproportioned that the bender, starting from raised or inoperativeposition, is given a continuous movement first to bring it intoengagement with the work and then to perform the actual bending of thematerial,

after which the bender is held in operative position, with the materialfully bent, and in substantially fixed relation to the path of theneedle for a considerable portion of each cycle of operations. Thisdwell of the bender is designed to occur while the needle is enteringthe bent material and while it cooperates with the shuttle to form astitch and thereafter to continue until the needle, in its retractingstroke, reaches approximately the point where its eye is entering thematerial.

Another feature of the invention comprises a construction in which thelinkage, through which the bender is actuated, is driven by an eccentricmember, preferably an ordinary eccentric, upon the driving shaft wherebycams are eliminated so that the ma chine, and particularly the bender,may be .driven successfully at high speed.

In addition to the features above specifically referred to, the presentinvention comprises certain combinations and arrangements of parts andparticular details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation,partly in section, of a-buttonhole finishing machine of a known typewhich embodies the bender actuating mechanism of the present inventionin its preferred form, the parts of the machine being shown, with thebender raised, in position for the entrance of the work; Fig. 2 is aview similar to Fig. 1, showing the bender in operative position withthe needle just about to leave the work on its retracting stroke; Fig.'3 is a plan view of the machine as shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4

is a diagrammatic view on a'largerscale,

showing successive positions of the bender and the several elements ofits actuating mechanism.

As illustrated, the invention is embodied in a machine of the particulartype shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 1,080,341,

dated December 2, 1918, granted upon applicants application, althoughobviously the invention in its broader features is not limited to use ina machine of that specific type. Accordingly, the parts of the machinewhich cooperate with the bender and its actuating mechanism will be onlybriefly described since they may be and preferably are arranged insubstantially the manner illustrated in said prior application.

In the drawings, a hollow, case12, within which most ofthe operativeparts of the machine are inclosed, serves as a table or support for thework which is fed through the machine from rightto left. A recess orslot 14 is provided in the upper surface of the work table to receivethe bent material, as shown in Fig. 2, and this slot may be, as usual,open bottomed at the operating. point, i. 6, directly below the bender.Other parts illustrated comprise a presser foot 16, pivot-' ed at 18 ina hollow projection 20 which rises from the work support 12, a feed dog22, a thrum gatherer 24, a needle 26 recip rocating in a horizontalplane parallel to and below the work supporting surface, and

a shuttle 28 which cooperates with the needle in the formation of thestitches.

Referring now particularly to the bender and its actuating mechanism, towhich. the present invention specifically relates, the bender 30 ,may beclamped rigidly to its carrier 32 by means of a screw 34which drawstogether the divided parts of a split bearing at the forward end of thecarrier. The position of the bender relative to the path of the needlemay be preliminarily adjusted by a screw 36. The bender carrier 32 ispreferably'in the form of'a bell crank lever pivoted upon the same axis18 as the presser foot 16 and connected at 38 to a link 40. The oppositeend of link 40 is connected through pivot 42 with the connecting rod 44which is driven from an eccentric 46 secured to the driving shaft 48.This shaft 48 is preferably rotated at a uniform speed but the parts ofthe linkage described are so located, arranged and proportioned-that, asillustrated particularly in Fig. 4, the motion imparted to the bender 30is variable.

The numerals 1 to 6 in Fig. 4 indicate successive positions of thecenter of eccentric 46, the lower end of bender 30 and certain elementsof the linkage which connect them. When the parts are in the positiondesignated l, which is the position shown in Fig. .1 and by fulllines inFig. 4, the bender goccupies its highest position and is farthest;removed from the work. As the eccentric 46 rotates in the directionindicated by the arrow, the bender will move downwardly into engagementwith the upper surface of the work and then its downward movement "lwillcontinue while a fold or bend is being :formed in the material and untilthe bender reaches its lowest position. designated the several partsbeing indicated by dash lines in Fig. 4. During the latter portion ofits operative stroke, the bender moves relatively slowly and while theeccentric 46 is moving from position 3 through position 4 to position 5,the pivot 42 connecting link 40 and rod 44 will move very nearly in anare about the pivot 38 as a center, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Hencesubstantially no movement will be imparted to the bender carrier 32 forat least a third of a rotation of the driving shaft 48, with the resultthat the bender will-hold the material properly bent for the needle asshown in Fig. 2. During this dwell of the bender, the needle willpenetrate the bent material and cooperate with the shuttle 28 in theformation of a stitch. The bender will start upwardly from its lowestposition at about the time that the needle, in its retracting stroke,reaches the position where its eye is entering the materialand hence thebender will release the material from pressure so that the thread willnot be broken as the looking or shuttle thread is drawn into thematerial. After the bender has moved out of contact with the work, itwill return quickly to its highest position and the cycle of operationsabove described will be repeated, the work being fed-forward while thebender is raised. I

It will be noted that with the construction and arrangement ofpartsillustrated and described the bender is given a. movement, thespeed of which is so graduated that the bender will cooperate in thedesired.

manner. with the needle and other operating parts and yet it is actuatedand controlled positively and by simple mechanism, such as an eccentricand short, direct connections to the bender, a construction which isparticularly adapted for use in a high speed machine.

Having thus indicated the. nature and scope of the invention and havingdescribed in detail, by way of illustration, one particular embodimentof the invention, what I claim as newand desire to protect by LettersPatent of the United States is 1. In a blindstitch sewing machine, thecombination of a driving shaft, an actuator upon said shaft, areciprocating needle, a bender movable substantially at right angles tothe path of the needle to bend the material being operated upon forpenetration by the needle, a bender carrier and a linkage positivelyconnecting said actuator and said carrier to move the benderunyieldingly while bending the material.

2. In a blindstitch sewing machine, the combination of a driving shaftrotating at approximately uniform speed, an eccentric actuator upon saidshaft, a reciprocating needle, a bender movable substantially at rightangles to the path of the needle to bend the material being operatedupon for penetration by the needle, a bender carrier and a positivelyacting linkage connecting said actuator and said carrier and constructedand operated not only to move the bender unyieldingly to and fromoperative position but also to hold the bender in that position for asubstantial portion of each rotation of the shaft.

3. In a blindstitch sewing machine, the combination of a reciprocatingneedle, a bender movable at substantially right angles to the path ofthe needle to bend the material being operated upon for penetration bythe needle, a pivoted bender carrier to which the bender is rigidlysecured and mechanism for actuating the bender comprising a drivingshaft rotating at approximately uniform speed, an eccentric actuatorupon said shaft, a connecting rod one end of which is connected to saidactuator, a link joining the opposite end of said rod to the bendercarrier and a guiding link swinging about a.

' fixed pivot and connected to said rod and located and operating tocause the bender to move from inoperative to operative posltion withincreasing speed and to remain in operative position and in asubstantially constant position relative to the path of the needle for asubstantial portion ofeach rotation of the driving shaft.

4. A buttonhole finishing machine having, in combination, a work supportpro-L vided with a slot, means for feeding the work, stitch formingmechanism including a needle reciprocating beneath and substantiallyparallel to the upper surface of. the work support, a driving shaftrotating at approximately uniform speed also located beneath the worksupport and extending in a plane at right' angles to the line of feedand to the path of the needle, an eccentric actuator upon said shaft, abender movable substantially at right angles to the surface of the worksupport and to the path of the needle" to bend. the material beingoperated upon into said slot and into the path of the needle, a bendercarrier oscillating about a fulcrum parallel to the drivingshaft and apositively acting linkage connecting said actuator and said carrier.

5. In a buttonhole finishing machine, a driving shaft, a reciprocatingneedle, a

bender movable substantially at right angles to the path of the needleto bend the material being operated upon for penetration by the needle,a bender carrier, in combination with'mechanism for positively actuatingthe bender comprising an eccentric 46 on said shaft, ,a connecting rod44:, a link 40 and a guide link 50 mounted upon a fixed pivot ;54= andconnected at 52 to the rod, substantially as described.

In testlmony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

' GEORGE S. HILL.

Witnesses:

CHESTER E. Rooms, RUTH E. WARD.

